As Culinary Magnet students walked into the kitchen, there was a buzz of excitmement as they talked about their first day of planning and got into their groups to cook food for the teachers once again.
After being discontinued last year, Culinary Magnet juniors and sophomores are participating in the Grab and Go once a month to gain hands-on experience in the food industry.
“So I wanted them to have the experience and to own it,” Chef Meredith Gann said. “So like, I think the best way to have them learn something is obviously to have them hands on.”
The students were put into groups at the beginning of the year and had to price out and plan their meals.
This year, teachers can come down to the culinary room and pick up their hot meals instead of coming down to the front of the school. Gann said this is a great opportunity for teachers to get a meal that they wouldn’t normally try.
“I didn’t want the students just learning to make the same five soups and five, salads every week for teachers to come get,” Gann said. “So I thought, well, maybe we’ll do it a little differently.”
The Grab and Go is a way for students to learn how to plan out a meal and experience what the food industry is like.
“I’ve also been inspired to maybe lean towards that way, maybe become a chef or a baker,” Junior Tiffany Nguyen said.
Despite having a new teacher, the Grab and Go has been running smoothly with the support from Gann.
“She really helped with a lot of stuff,” Junior Michelle Atinmo said.
Gann let the students choose their own meals so that they could have room to be creative, grow and to change things up every month.
“We made tweaks to the recipes and Chef Gan really let us be creative with our Grab and Gos.” Atinmo said.
Not only did the Grab and Go prepare students for the culinary industry, but also let them reflect their culture through their meals. For example, Nguyen’s menu reflected her Vietnamese culture, and through her Grab and Go she was able to showcase her culture and how important it is to her.
“So I found it really important to show others how this cuisine is amazing.” Nguyen said.
Culinary students like Nguyen and Atinmo are already seeing how the skills learned in the Grab and Go apply to the culinary industry.
“It’s like prepped me for how it’s going to be in the future if I decide to go on with culinary school or like catering and stuff like that.” Atinmo said.
Gann is already thinking of improvements for future years.
“I think there’s definitely room for improvement and stuff,” Gann said. “But with what we have in the equipment we have, I think we’re doing a really good job with it.”
